


Thirty Days of Beginnings, Middles, and Ends

by Poches



Series: Writing Challenges [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, 30 Days of Writing, F/M, Fluff, Meme, Tumblr Memes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 07:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3282251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poches/pseuds/Poches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edit 9/6/2015: I'M PROBABLY NEVER FINISHING THIS TBH LOL. Because I am just great at this.</p><p>Link to the challenge in the notes~</p><p>Hey all! So I decided to take on the 30 day OTP challenge in order to 1.) improve my general writing skills, but also 2.) improve my Garrus writing skills. Of all the characters I've written as, I feel like Garrus gives me the most challenge and I don't know why, given how much I love him in my game. Maybe that's why. Perhaps I just feel like I can't do him justice. ANYWAYS! Let's get this show on the road.</p><p>Critique would be extremely appreciated! ;u;</p><p>-EDIT 2/6/15: Decided to mix it up every now and then and include other couples in Mass Effect. This 30 day challenge will still be mostly Garrus/Shepard, however there will be chapters with different couples. Chapters with different couples other than Garrus/Shepard will be marked as "Wild Card" chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Still: Holding Hands

**Author's Note:**

> http://khorazir.tumblr.com/post/39302697479/30-day-otp-challenge
> 
> Garrus' first time holding hands with someone with 5-digits.  
> For the 30 day OTP writing/drawing challenge for FemShepard/Garrus Vakarian, my Mass Effect OTP.  
> DAY 1: Holding hands  
> 

“Oh come on. Please, Garrus?”

The turian fidgeted, his nervousness clear. “I don’t know about this, Shepard.”

“Garrus. It is _just_ holding hands.” Shepard crossed her arms, red lips pulled into a tight line. He felt a bit guilty when he saw the extended hand withdraw into the pose. “It’s not like we’re engaging in hand-to-hand combat.”

At this point, hand-to-hand combat would be more at home for Garrus. Not only was he used to sparring with his commanding officer, but it was definitely something he knew more about.

It wasn’t as if holding hands was a terrible foreign concept to him. He’d seen couples at the Citadel do it. He’d even seen the occasional turian couple doing it too. Every now and then he’d see a turian and asari, mismatching number of fingers still intertwined in a somehow fitting union. He’d be lying if he hadn’t thought about doing that with Shepard.

But of course, when she asked, he’d clammed right up. It’s not like he was ashamed to be seen in public with her, oh no. Anyone would be proud and blissful to be standing next to the Commander Shepard. She was beautiful, with glossy black hair and dark eyes to match. Strong, damn strong. Could know a krogan down (Shit, she’s already shot quite a few.) Sharp as a blade. Had a wicked smile that sent him into subharmonics in less than a second. He didn’t give a damn about any of the looks people gave him for his relationship with her. Friends, strangers, it didn’t matter. The moment they were together in their own realm, not a damn thing mattered, much less the stares he received.

He even had to admit that a pettier side of him enjoyed the occasional longing look he received from Kaidan.

_That’s right. Me. Not you. I saw what you did. I saw how you left her hanging during her time of need._

Of course, that thought only made him feel worse about his current situation.  
“It’s just…Spirits, Shepard, I’ve just never been big on this thing.”

“Really now?” Her face relaxed and she threw him a teasing grin. “I thought the whole Archangel business had the girls swooning. And I thought the whole “reach” thing gave them plenty to hold onto.” The remark only earned her an irritated face as he said nothing. He turned away, deciding it was best to just stare out at the open skyway of the Citadel.

“Wait. Really? Seriously?” Shepard raised an eyebrow. He nodded. A part of her wanted to joke about the following nights after the suicide mission, but the better part of her stilled her tongue.

Instead, she just moved closer to him, standing beside him. His head turned slightly to look at her. He caught the scent of her hair as she nuzzled the side of her head into his shoulder. Slowly, her hand gravitated towards his. Then, slowly, her pinky finger curled around his third finger. He stood still during the contact, though he felt his heart thumping against his ribs. Through one finger, he felt like he was connected to her now, her warmth slowly emanating through him.

She didn’t rush. She didn’t even move from her position or try to get more fingers in. This alone was good enough for her. One connection established through the touch of their hands was already causing her to smile widely, face easing into a pleased expression.

These were the hands that protected her. The ones that shot down her enemies for her, pulled her into cover, wiped away her tears, and held her close after rude awakenings.

These were the hands that reassured him. The ones that gave him feeling through his scars, silenced his doubts, led him to victory, and stroked his fringe during long, sleepless nights.

They stayed like that for a good while, fingers intertwined and staring out the window of the Citadel and simply watching ships and skycars pass by.


	2. Stay: Cuddling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just cuddles with your local turian boyfriend.  
> For the 30 day OTP writing/drawing challenge.  
> DAY 2: Cuddling somewhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 day OTP challenge:  
> http://khorazir.tumblr.com/post/39302697479/30-day-otp-challenge

When he was invited into her cabin, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

However, he most definitely was not expecting her to coax into him sitting, only to have her take a seat on his lap. The moment she sat down on him, he gave a surprised gasp. “Ah!”

Shepard nestled down on him, her legs perpendicular to his. His gaze would have turned downwards at her thighs if he hadn’t felt her arms wrap around his cowl and neck. Then her face followed suit as she nuzzled into his neck. He shivered slightly. “Hey, Shepard…!”

He couldn’t believe how comfortable she looked. Didn’t…wasn’t she…?

“What’s up, Garrus?”

He coughed, but mostly out of indignity. Now he felt like she was doing this on purpose. The simple smile on her face nearly convinced him of it.

“Well, it’s just that you’re, ah, a bit close.”

“And?”

“Well, aren’t you uncomfortable? Turians aren’t really built for…being sat upon.”

The woman on his lap grinned. “No, I’m perfectly comfortable being in the lap of the man I like very much.” Now he was positive she was doing this on purpose now.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

He relaxed a bit, shifting to accommodate for her shape.“Well then, alright.” A few moments passed and he wasn’t sure what to do next. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him, and she felt her move slightly and emit a tiny “Mm.”, but then remained still again. “Is there, uh, anything I can for you?”

“No.” He was expecting a more elaborate answer.

“Nothing? Nothing at all?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Are, are you sure?”

She pulled her face away from his neck with a vaguely irritated furrow of her brow. “Garrus, unless you dislike this, I am 100% perfectly wonderfully content and cozy cuddling with you.”

“No, no! This is nice!” Garrus asserted hastily. “I like this, Shepard, I really do. It’s nice to just be close to you, I suppose.” He backed this statement up by leaning against the couch a bit more comfortable, pulling her down with him.

“But?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but turians aren’t the most…cuddly, I suppose. What not with the spurs and spikes.”

“Garrus, I’ve butted heads with krogans and we know how hard their damn skulls are.”

Okay, he had to give her that one.

“But come on. Look at us.” she snickered, pressing into him more. “Commander fucking Shepard and Archangel, two of the most intimidating, badass figures in history, cuddling. And it’s all good.” He had to chuckle at that, making subtle vibrations in his chest that she could feel. Feeling a touch bolder, he took one hand and ran his talons through her hair. The motion felt soothing against her scalp. She made another little pleasured noise, and he took that as his cue to continue. Shepard giggled as a talon brushed against her ear, the uncharacteristically jovial noise taking him by surprise. “Hey, watch it.” she said, smiling into his neck.

He continued the motion, closing his eyes and feeling the sensation of her on his body. Shepard blanketed him gently, providing him with soft warmth. They talked about things for a bit, murmuring into each other’s ears. He forgot what he was doing as he slowly dozed off.

Garrus woke up a couple hours later. Out of instinct, he almost got up immediately, but was stopped by a warm weight propped against his body. He looked down to see Shepard still asleep, face now pressed against his chest. Her breathing was steady, chest rising and falling as his own did the same. She looked so at peace, so content. His mandibles flexed into a smile as he rest his hand on her head again.

Perhaps this wasn’t bad after all.


	3. Why: Game/Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My name is Garrus Vakarian, and I am playing a ridiculous asari-hanar porn game with my equally as ridiculous human girlfriend. This is my life now."
> 
> DAY 3: Gaming/Watching a movie
> 
> For the 30 day OTP writing/drawing challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was stuck between writing about them watching a ridiculously bad porno or playing a FPS game and fucking destroying each other.
> 
> Then I thought "Why not both?"  
> "Kinda." Plus. Doesn't help that I recall hearing a salarian talking about porn games...
> 
> Sorry this one's so short/sloppy. I've been feeling down today and I wrote this to cheer myself up.
> 
> http://khorazir.tumblr.com/post/39302697479/30-day-otp-challenge  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2b-W6n07Y&t=1m50s

“Now remind me why we’re doing this again?”

Shepard hummed to herself as she set up the game on her television. “Well, I figured why not? The game dealer was giving them away for free.” She could hear the turian make a skeptical grunt. “Oh come on. It was either this or Fleet and Flotilla. Tali forced a copy into my archives and won’t remove the encryption until I watch it with you.” Any other noise from Garrus throat dissipated, only to be replaced by a silent, disgusted grimace. “Yeah, I feel you.”

“It’s not like it’s a bad movie. The actors know what they’re doing. I think it’s just…I’m sorry, but “free as the dust in the solar wind”? Come on.” She matched his disgusted face with a face of her own, and then it turned into a dreamy expression, her eyelashes softly fluttering and her mouth slightly agape. _“I am as free as the dust in the solar wind.”_ She shook her head. “Eh. Not my thing.”

“But Shepard, I have my duty, and you have your…ah hah, I can’t.” Garrus shook his head, snickering uncontrollably at this point. “I can’t do it. I can’t hold my subvocals like that and take it seriously.” He fell back on the bed in a pile of giggles. She smiled back at him as he tried to recover. Shepard took a seat next to him on the bed and waited for the game to fire up.

The screen came alive with a noise and they were brought to the start scene. “What kind of game was this again?”

“Well, the salesman told me it was a dating simulator.”

“…Shepard, are you trying to tell me something?”

“No. I just thought it would be funny. Come on.”

He sighed, his mandibles twitching in amusement. “Alright. Just start the damn game already.”  
\----------------------------------------------------------------  
Moments later, he wished he hadn’t rushed her to start.

Because now they were eyeball deep in the weirdest, most exaggerated asari-hanar porn game ever. Shepard was wheezing from laughter, unable to speak as tears rolled down her face. Garrus’ face had frozen in an expression of absolute horror as a hanar slipped its tentacles where he thought no tentacle-hanar or not-should ever venture into. High-pitched, cartoony moans filled the air, along with ridiculous lines that even the most low-budget pornos wouldn’t dare to utter. Shepard only laughed harder as he brought his hands to his face, contemplating how he even got here.

“Hhhholy SHIT, no _wonder_ he couldn’t fucking sell thi-hi-hihis!” Shepard tried to speak between laughs, but her stomach was cramping from the laughter. She flopped down on the sheets again, giggles disappearing into the bedding.

This was his life now. _“My name is Garrus Vakarian and I am playing a ridiculous asari-hanar porn game with my equally as ridiculous human girlfriend.”_

She rubbed away her tears, new ones already forming in her eyes. “Oh god, what a piece of shit. Wait. Garrus. What if we go back and choose the alternate route?”

He gave her the best incredulous-looking stare he could muster up through the horror he was still feeling. “You, you don’t mean to say you want to KEEP playing this, are you?”  
“But don’t you want to find out what else Allera-chan can do with her biotics?”

“No, Shepard. I do not want to know. I never want to know.” The last sentence was heavily emphasized with a sense of urgency.

The next half hour went by painfully and slowly. Thankfully, the game was short and even Shepard grew bored with it.

Later that night, he snuggled close to her under the sheets. She inched towards him, pressing her face into his chest, earning her a little rumble of contentedness. Garrus gently drew his arms around her, pulling her closer.

“Iyaaa, Garrus-kun…~” Shepard snickered as she felt him cringe and freeze.

“Shepard. No.” A moment passed until he spoke again. “Give me the name of the salesman.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Huh? Why?”

“Because I’m stepping into his store and arresting him on grounds of incriminating content."

“But Garrus-kun…”

“No. Shepard. No.”

He was going to have nightmares for days.


	4. Red, Blue, and Purple All Over: On a Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus and Shepard go on a date. It's Shepard's turn to choose their date this time, though...  
> For the 30 day OTP writing/drawing challenge for FemShepard/Garrus Vakarian, my Mass Effect OTP.  
> DAY 4: On a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://khorazir.tumblr.com/post/39302697479/30-day-otp-challenge

_Bang!_

Shepard could feel the impact of a sniper bullet slamming against the crate she was using as cover. Poor thing wasn’t going to last long. She could hear its defenses failing as the crate began to creak pathetically. Her mind was racing. She couldn’t stay holed up like this forever. Eventually she would have to move. She heard the characteristic noise of a sniper rifle being reloaded and she saw her chance.

Rising from her squatting position, she quickly darted over to another barricade, a sturdier one this time. Somehow, another bullet hit the ground between her legs as she ran, prompting her to run faster and further. She considered her options. _Switch to the assault rifle? No. Too inaccurate. Sniper mind games? No, he has me beat there…I’d be chasing him for hours, and even then he’d still find some way to screw me._ She fumbled at her arsenal, and her hands wrapped around her pistol. _Best bet I’ve got._

A bead of sweat dripped down her temple. Her helmet’s visor was beginning to fog with sweat and heavy breaths. She’d managed to avoid getting shot at for this long, but the way he kept shelling out shots only told her that he could go at this forever. The fucker was taunting her, making her scurry about in a panic every single time she so much as saw a glint of that sniper scope. She resisted the urge to slam her fist against the metal barricade. _Damn it all. How did I let him set up? Fuck. Stupid, stupid, stupid._ She quickly peeked over the corner, only to be met with another shot, causing her to flinch. However, she had achieved her goal.

She loaded the pistol and it made a satisfying click. “Alright, buddy.” Shepard muttered to herself, chewing at her lip. “You wanna play this game? We’re gonna play this game.” Only a second after he had fired the previous shot, Shepard dashed towards his sniping position, intending to close the distance between them. He knew, switching to his assault rifle, firing in a spray in her direction. She dipped low and slid down behind a barricade, waiting for him to run out of ammo before immediately replying with several well-timed shots that caught him in the arms and ribs. He doubled over in visible pain in a spray of red. Shepard grinned as she heard a satisfying grunt of pain and an obscenity or two.

“What’s wrong, Vakarian? Or should I say, Archangel?” she called over from behind her crate. “Not so hot anymore?” Shepard pulled her red lips into a grin as she peeked over her defenses. “Or are you starting to see red?”

She was met with a sudden flash of blue as his rebuttal splattered across her crate, some of it catching her on the face. “Hey! Watch it! No headshots!” Shepard glared as a visible smear of blue had spattered across her face. She could practically see the self-satisfied look on his face now. “I dunno, Shepard. Feeling blue?”

“Now see here, headshots don’t count. And I got you first anyways!”

“The rules were only to get paint on you, Shepard. So I think we can call this a tie and you can walk away with your pride intact.” _Oh of course that’d be his response._

“Oh, we are NOT doing this, Garrus.”

His only response was to start showering her defensive position with a hail of blue paintballs. It didn’t seem like he was going to let up. “How the fuck did you get so many?!”

“Well unlike you, Shepard,” he crowed at her. “I come prepared.” He tossed something over to her. What in the…

Her eyes widened. “You FUCKER.” She said quietly, almost inaudibly.

Even though he couldn’t have heard her response, Garrus’ mandibles twitched into a smug grin. “I know.” 

On cue, he heard her scuttle away from the paint bomb, boots stomping away from the sound of an explosion of paint splattering. Without looking, he began spraying the path between him and her with paintballs, coating her potential path in a lovely shade of blue. Shepard stormed at him, charging at him with no intentions of stopping. Though he wasn’t sure what she was going to do, he was not expecting her to continue her rampage. Covered from head to toe in blue paint, she screamed at him as she body slammed him to the ground, ignoring all the pain from the impact of the paintballs. As soon as he was on the ground, torso covered in red and now blue, she stepped back and began pelting him with her own shower of crimson.

“Hey Garrus! You’re lucky you’ve got a cute face! I’m not aiming for the face!” she jeered.

“Augh—ugh—fuck—Shepard---SHEPARD—FUCK!” The minute she was out of ammo, he tackled her legs, throwing her to the ground. Garrus took the opportunity to try pinning her down, but a kick in the gizzard stopped him short, knocking the air out of him for a short moment. He coughed painfully, but his rage refused to let that dirty move deter him, and he leapt upon her, wrestling the gun out of her hand. It came away easily, and soon they were rolling around on the ground, grappling each other but not striking each other. Reds and blues began mingling together, the paint virtually inseparable much like the couple wrestling each other in the paintball arena.

Soon they lay side by side, panting and wheezing in exhaustion. Their entire bodies ached from the punishment they’d received from all those practically point-blank shots. They were most definitely going to have bruises.

He was the first to sit up. Garrus looked down at her and he removed his helmet, which was now artistically peppered with red, blue, and many smears of purple. Shepard followed suit.

“So. Good place for a date?” she managed to rasp, still trying to catch her breath.

“Great place for a date.” His mandibles flexed into a grin. “Though most girls would choose a romantic movie, or a café. Not a paintball arena. This is a nice change of pace, though.”

She leaned against him, their armor suits sliding against each other, slick with paint. “Glad you liked it.” Looking him over once or twice, she snickered.

“What is it, Shepard?”

“I was just thinking. You’re covered in my colors, and I’m covered in yours.”

“And we’re _both_ covered in purple.” He drew his arms around her and held her close in the middle of the colorful battlefield. “These bruises are definitely going to show.”

“Just a reminder of the good time you had, then. C’mon. We should get cleaned up.”

Despite saying that, they stayed like that for a bit, red and blue meshing together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because paintball dates are the best dates <3 I was debating whether to make this something really fluffy or make it laser tag instead, but paintball seemed funnier. I also just wanted it to degenerate into Shepard tackling Garrus and completely manhandling and wrestling each other.
> 
> Also if you couldn't tell, the parallel/motif I was aiming for was Shepard and her red lipstick and Garrus and his blue face paint.
> 
> Huzzah~


	5. <Wild Card> Sudden Contact: Kissing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DAY 5: Kissing
> 
> A couple of kissing stories from Liara and Garrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://khorazir.tumblr.com/post/39302697479/30-day-otp-challenge
> 
> Please note that the the Shepards in these couples are *different*.  
> COMBO DRABBLE TIME! TIME TO MIX IT UP!  
> I decided to mix it up a bit today because I wanted to write something for both Liara and Garrus with this prompt. I just wanted to. However as said before, Liara is with Misha Shepard (infiltrator), Garrus is with my original Shepard (soldier).
> 
> Day 6's drabble will be coming today, I promise! If not, then it will come soon.
> 
> Enjoy while I go update the tags~

**LIARA**

Liara was not one to think too hard about grudges.

However, she was entertaining the thought of separating Joker from his legs with a snap of her fingers. It would have been easy enough, what not with his disease. Then again, perhaps she should thank him instead. She wasn’t sure anymore.

Her face burned at the thought of her commander stumbling into her, yet accepting Liara’s embrace as if she’d belonged there all along. Shepard had thrown her a sheepish little smile, a tiny lift of the corners of her mouth, at the “predicament” they’d been in. It was a playful expression that said “Oh well if that’s how it must be…” And their lips started to gravitate towards each other…before Joker’s voice crackled rudely on the comm. The asari shook her head, not sure if it was either out of annoyance or shame.

She tried to bury these thoughts in reports of Protheans and leads on Saren, but that was exactly the problem. They always lead her to think of Shepard. Liara closed her eyes. Even behind her eyelids, the commander was there.

Shepard and her lovely light brown skin, smooth and sweet like caramel. Short, dark brown hair that she had seen her run her hand through on occasion. Green eyes that winked and vaguely reminded Liara of the lush trees she used to scale and swing from as a child. A laugh that tinkled and sent sparks through her chest. Full, soft lips that smiled, teeth sinking into the flesh every now and…

Liara’s eyes snapped open. “Oh Goddess, really?” she muttered to herself. She rested her palm against her forehead, convinced a flush had spread through the surface of her skin. “Is that what I’m thinking of right now?” It was evident that the memory of their little rendezvous from earlier was there to stay in her mind. She soldered her forehead into the desk with a small slam and growled in frustration and embarrassment and drew her arms around face.

Kisses. The only kisses she could recall experiencing were from her mother. Sometimes as a child, her classmates would play together, reenacting romantic scenes with full on lip contact. But those didn’t really count, did they? Liara sat up from her slouching position and pressed a thumb against her lips. The soft flesh there yielded to her thumb. She contemplated what Shepard’s lips would taste like. No matter how hard she tried, she could never remember what those previous, innocent kisses were ever like. Would it have done her any good anyways? They were very different in nature. What did anyone taste like anyways? Nothing? Could it just be broken down to the taste of the insides of her cheeks and saliva?

Her brow furrowed as she fantasized what her commander’s mouth would taste like. _This_ was what she was thinking about.

Despite these thoughts being the most secure in her mind, they tantalized and taunted her with no release in sight. _Well…there IS a release I can think of…_ Liara shook her head, and went back to throwing herself at reports with little success.  
\------------------------------------------  


She opened her eyes to the dim lights of her several monitor screens and Glyph passively floating about. Liara blinked once or twice, sleep threatening to shut them again. She moaned softly, rolling into a shoulder. Shepard’s shoulder peeking out of the covers. Liara allowed herself a private and little smile. _“If that’s how it must be…”_ Then she pressed her lips to the bare skin. The flesh was cold from the lack of covering. The human shifted at the touch of Liara’s lips, but she did not wake.  


Liara draped her arm over the bare shoulder, prompting a muffled noise from Shepard. Turning over on her back, she still didn’t wake up, but seemed to have a more-or-less peaceful expression. The dark circles that had invaded Shepard’s skin didn’t seem to matter anymore. The asari grinned to herself again and pressed her smile into the shoulder again, this time making a small noise.  


She tasted of all of Liara’s dreams and fantasies, and they both dreamed on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**GARRUS**

Shepard was adaptable, and Garrus silently thanked the spirits for that.

She had gotten accustomed to what turians appreciated in an intimate relationship. The emphasis on the waist and fringe, the meaning of forehead contact, the crooning and purring, the occasional attention to his spurs...the list went on. She was even on her way to interpreting and understanding the meaning of the shifts in his subvocals. 

Even he had made considerable leaps in cognition, getting used to petting and feeling a soft fringe whose strands would get entangled in his talons, the breasts and lack of angular waists, the way those extra fingers would play with his own, and of course, that _mouth_. The blunt teeth and smooth tongue and lack of mandibles opened up a whole other world of possibilities and meanings. The thought of those red lips and the many meanings of their movements always made him shudder slightly.

He sighed. At times he felt guilty. Guilty that he couldn’t reciprocate the way she did. To be fair, he did do a good amount of reciprocating for all those kisses down his chest with that tongue of his, but sometimes he wondered it was the same.

Garrus considered their conversation concerning past relationships while they were enjoying a drink together.

_“Really?”_

_“Really.”_

_“No. No, that’s just not possible.”_

_“Well it is.”_

_“So you really never…”_

_“Kissed.”_ He recalled the way her fingers swirled on the rim of her glass. _“Never kissed. Not on the mouth, anyways. Not with anyone who wasn’t family.”_

_“But isn’t that-“_

_“Now I’m not 100% sure about all of the meanings and implications of turian skinship,”_ she threw him a sarcastic smile. _”But kisses are applicable in romantic, platonic, and familial relationships, my dear Vakarian.”_

She’d never kissed anyone, not in _that_ way anyway. A memory surfaced in his mind. He remembered how he leaned down to let her forehead touch his, the contact sending sparks through his mind and core. Though her slow, shy smile proved that she definitely seemed to appreciate the gesture, Garrus couldn’t help but wonder if she felt the same electricity and excitement he had. It was a solemn moment, yes, but it filled him with an energy that only occurred in seldom. Like the day he scored his first headshot, the day he started his first mission, the day he joined her fight against Saren.

He could definitely understand that some things just had different meanings to different species, and that not all of them were equal in volume. He’d gone through that process, and only through an appreciation of Shepard herself had he really acquired a taste for human gestures, and it was the same for her. Yet Garrus couldn’t quash the desire to spoil her with things that were a little closer to home, so to speak.

Slamming his hands on the console, Garrus had made up his mind. He’d do it, do it for her. But a nervous tingle permeated his body regardless. “It’s only a…kiss.” He reminded to himself in low whispers. “Just a kiss. A kiss. Kiss. Keese. Ugh.” The very word “kiss” was foreign to him, and the word wrestled with his tongue. And in the face of unexplored territory, Garrus couldn’t help but feel like he had to be on alert for this. He didn’t want to ruin the experience for her, yet he had to keep in mind that she wouldn’t have many instances to compare him with. His mind still swam in meshing feelings and thoughts when she came in for her usual rounds.

“Hey Garrus. Got a minute?”

He snapped to attention at the sound of her voice. “Shepard. Yeah. Yeah, I…do…” The last few words petered off as he noticed her lips. She was no longer wearing her signature opaque red lipstick, but rather a more moderate shade of brown-orange. He had to admit she looked good in the new color. Though he loved the boldness of the red, how it was _her_ signature color, something about this more subtle shade appealed to him. It complemented her features, giving her a softer, more natural look that…

After a moment, she noticed his hesitation. “Uh, Garrus? Gaaaaarrus.” She snapped her fingers in his face and he blinked. “You there?”

“Uh? Uh, yeah. I’m here. Sorry about that.” His mandibles flicked nervously. “Did you, erm, need me for something?”

She gave him an inquisitive look, one eyebrow dropping and her lips pulling into a semi-taut line. He watched them move and let out a breath. “Well, not really. I just wanted to drop by and talk. You know. As usual.”

He nodded with a blank expression. “Right, right.” Garrus saw this as an opportunity. “So new lipstick?”

The suspicious look melted and gave way to a smile. Garrus felt another sigh coming on, a heavier one, but held it back. “Oh, yeah. I thought it would be nice to change it up for once. Like it?” she chuckled. “I took suggestions from anyone who would listen.” Her smile turned a bit more sheepish. “A little…insignificant, given what’s going on…but I thought it might be nice. Honestly though, it’s a bit more sheer than I’m used to. But now’s not the time to worry about my makeup, as hypocritical as that statement is.”

Garrus swallowed, hoping the motion wasn’t that noticeable. “It’s definitely nice, Shepard. I, I like it.”

Now she flashed teeth. “Heh, thanks. I appreciate it. I might wear it more, then. Just to treat you.” He felt a tugging on his heart at this point. “Yeah. It’s nice. I like it a lot.” The suspicious look came back. “Okay, what’s up. Something’s bothering you.” _Crap, crap, crap._

“No, nothing’s bothering me.” He started to avoid her gaze which was now boring holes into his poor hide.

“Bullshit.” _Crrrrrrrap._ “We’ve been around each other for awhile, Garrus. And I notice these things. C’mon. Spill it.” Shepard crossed her arms and the stare seemed to intensify with the simple change in posture. She said another thing that was meant to cajole an answer out of him.

And perhaps it worked, because he suddenly grabbed her shoulders with speed he usually reserved for repositioning himself in battle and pressed his mouth to hers. Shepard’s eyes widened, the stare completely broken as she felt Garrus urgently press his face against hers, her lips making contact with the flat surface of his mouth.

He released her momentarily, and as he pulled back, Garrus felt pangs of panic resonate in his chest as he noted Shepard’s dazed expression. Her lipstick had smeared across her mouth now, and her eyes had widened considerably. 

“Uh.”

She shook her head once, the same way she did when she was drinking strong liquor. “Uh.” She parroted.

Garrus took a breath and steadied his voice. He opened his mouth before she interrupted.

“Well damn. I guess I _should_ wear this shade more often.” Despite the surprised undertones in her expression, Shepard still managed to pull off a smile that sent a pleasant shiver down his spine. He chuckled nervously, but with a bit more confidence as he read the flickers in her still-wide eyes.

“Ah, hah. Maybe. I’m still quite partial to the red, though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason I chose orange-brown is because of the conversation you have with Mordin. About his skin tone. And how his skin color is allegedly attractive by turian standards.


End file.
